A Mid-Winter's Reprieve
by GrizzBe
Summary: They've been dating for a couple month's now, but now Christmas is coming and Jesse needs to come up with a gift. This is a problem because Jesse hasn't bought a gift in ages. Will he think of something before they exchange gifts at Jack's Annual Christmas Party? Or will he find himself on Lena's Naughty List?
1. Chapter 1

_Many thanks go to out to shadesofnope on Tumblr for worming this particular idea into my head! This'll only be three short chapters and I'll try to get them all out before Christmas! Now that I've done Fall and started Winter, I'll probably come out with a Spring and Summer around their respective seasons to flesh this out into a "Seasons" series. Hope y'all like this! Let me know what y'all think!_

* * *

"Come on, Compadre! I could use some help here."

Jesse's mind was coming up blank and he was running out of time. If they both didn't have so much scheduled for the day itself he would have a whole other week to worry. As it stood, though, he had about seven hours to come up with something.

 _Maybe you could convince Jack to postpone the party a day?_

 _Are you kidding? She'd sniff that out in a second. You know how mad she'd get, she's been looking forward to this!_

 _Maddern' that bull you decided to ride on that drunken bet back with Deadlock._

 _Exactly, now let's figure this out. It's just a gift, dammit! You're Jesse "BAMF" McCree!_

"Why, Mr. McCree, you _know_ I've been bound by my word to Lena to not help you at all," the Gorilla flashed a toothy grin and made an effort to clean is glasses as nonchalantly as possible.

"Come on now, Partner! We both know Gabriel already gave her advice! You're her best friend! All I want is a _hint!_ "

 _He's enjoying this._

 _Guaran-damned-teed, Amigo._

"It's not _my_ fault that your mentor thought it was hilarious to not listen to you about giving Lena Christmas gift advice," said Winston, clearly enjoying himself.

"Well, what did _you_ get her?"

With that, Winston let out a beastly laugh, "No sir! No hints, no suggestions, no ideas, no clues. You will get _nothing_ from me."

"Fine! I don't need any help from you, ya big… Gorilla!" McCree pointed at the sky in defiance, something that he clearly didn't feel.

The Cowboy's eyebrows furled into just the slightest hint of consternation as he turned around and started to walk out of Winston's lab. As he reached the door, Winston cleared his throat.

"She won't want anything big, she'll want something that's meaningful."

Jesse turned around, a big grin plastered on his face.

Winston sighed, "I'm a Gorilla, not a monster."

 _Does this warrant a hug?_

 _I think so._

 _What if he rips your good arm off?_

 _Angela'll just have to make you a new one. You and Genji will be robot amigos together._

"Winston, you are a fine gentleman and don't let anyone tell you differently!" Jesse crossed the space between them quickly and wrapped Lena's best, and definitely largest, friend in as good an approximation of a bear hug as he could manage.

"That's most definitely not necessary, Mr. McCree," said an increasingly flustered Winston, reluctantly returning the smaller man's hug. "Now, don't you have lunch with a certain someone you need to be headed to?"

Jesse's eyes darted to the clock on the wall, he had about 15 minutes to cross the compound and make it to the mess hall for his and Lena's best approximation of a "lunch date".

"Ah shit, Partner, you're right!"

Winston didn't even have time to respond before Jesse was out the door and stepping out into the snowy courtyard.

 _Something small. Something that's meaningful. Okay. We can do this._

 _A tiny horse!_

 _A tiny horse? Idiot. How does that have any meaning to it?_

 _Shit. Has she ever said anything about owning a pony?_

 _No!_

This argument continued in his head as Jesse walked towards the mess hall against the snow. The snowfall was only supposed to get heavier as the day went on, but there wasn't a chance Jack would cancel the Holiday Party. If Jack wanted to dish out eggnog and sing carols awfully, by god, Jack was going to dish out eggnog and sing awfully for all to hear.

Jesse fixed his hat a little further down his head and wrapped his sarape a little tighter around himself. He was going to be late for their lunch date and he kicked himself for getting too distracted at Winston's lab. He didn't get too many chances to see Lena during the day, what with his working in Blackwatch and her being one of the poster children for their parent organization.

Since they had started dating, they had developed a multitude of little ways to keep connected regardless of how busy they got, including these mini lunch "dates". McCree's personal favorite were the notes they left for each other at a drop location when they were leaving on missions. Jesse smiled to himself thinking of how excited Lena had gotten when she had thought of that one, she had said it made her feel like a spy, "All secret agent like."

Then Christmas came up. It looked increasingly likely that one, if not both, of them would be busy on the actual day, so they both agreed to exchange gifts at Commander Morrison's Christmas Party. Lena had been so giddy when they were talking about it that Jesse figured he would've agreed to just about anything.

 _It's a good thing she was talking about Christmas presents and not robbing a bank._

 _Doubt Gabe would be very forgiving if you got caught._

It was only afterward that the panic had set in. It had been ages since McCree had gotten a gift from anyone. Gabriel wasn't really the gift giving or receiving type and that kind of behavior was likely to get your ass kicked in the Deadlock Gang. To make matters worse, Lena was well-known as one of the best gift givers on the base. There were plenty of folks on the support staff who still went out of their way to thank Lena for the gifts she had gotten them.

McCree made his way through the doors to the mess hall and shook the snow off of him, shaking what was left off his hat before looking for his girlfriend. It wasn't long before he spotted the spritely Brit hopping up and down trying to get his attention next to a table in the back. Jesse smiled as he headed that way, placing his hat down on the table before picking up Lena in a big hug.

" _Brrrrrr,_ you're _freezing_ Cowboy!" Lena said with a laugh, smiling as she buried herself in the mess of serape, facial hair, and musk that made up the majority of her boyfriend.

"I think you just might be too warm there, Puddin'."

" _Pudding?_ " she said, pulling back and giving Jesse a rather dissatisfied look.

"Don't like that one, huh?"

"Not your best! Keep trying, _Buckaroo_." she gave Jesse a smile as he put her down and the two sat down at the table.

As they settled in, Lena grabbed Jesse's hat off the table and put it on, flashing a smile at her Cowboy as he picked up his fork. She knew just how much he loved that and he couldn't help but smile back. The two began to eat their lunch and catch up with each other's mornings before Jesse came to an abrupt halt when he got to his foray into Winston's lab.

Lena looked up from her lunch and gave Jesse an inquisitive eyebrow, "What were you doing in Winston's lab, _McCree?_ "

"Well, ya know… It's been awhile since I've seen the big ape…"

"Uh _huh_ …"

"And I wanted to say hi," Jesse said, giving Lena a sheepish smile.

 _She's got you dead to rights, amigo._

 _You see that smile of hers? She's like a mountain lion whose cornered a wounded deer._

 _Why are you turned on right now?_

"Listen, Darlin, you got Gabe's help! I don't see why I can't get Winston's!"

"First off, I did not _ask_ for Gabriel's help, he found me and offered it _unsolicited_. And as for you, we _agreed_ that we wouldn't ask for help from anyone!" Lena stated, loving every second of it.

"But it's so _haaaard_ ," said Jesse, feigning being upset and throwing his head back.

Lena leaned across the table and clasped a tuft of hair on the back of his head, drawing his eye level with hers, "Not my problem, Love." She brought his lips to hers and the two shared a kiss, short but not lacking in passion.

"Fine, fine, I'll do it your way!" McCree said, standing up and grabbing their trays.

"Good to hear it!"

Lena accompanied Jesse as he took their trays to the return and the two enjoyed each other's company before they had to depart for their afternoon's filled with briefings, meetings and all sorts of official (and unofficial) Overwatch business.

"So… What did you get me?"

"No _hints_ , McCree!"

"Fine, fine, just had to give it a shot, is all," Jesse flashed his most charming grin.

"Uh-huh," said Lena, rolling her eyes and smiling back.

"Well, this is where our trails part, Lil' Lady."

"Looks like it. I'll see you at Jack's around 1900, yeah?"

"You know it, Darlin'." The two shared another kiss, lingering perhaps a little too long for such a public place, enjoying the tastes of each other's mouths that they had grown so familiar with over the past month and a half.

Jesse held onto her hand until she had walked too far away from him, heading towards a briefing for an upcoming mission. McCree watched her as she turned the corner, out of sight, and sprinted off towards the Blackwatch hanger where he was supposed to meet Gabriel. He didn't have long before the afternoon exercise was supposed to begin.

He threw open the door to Gabriel's office overlooking the hanger and found his superior and mentor reviewing a file, likely one far above his pay grade. Upon seeing McCree in such a huff, the Blackwatch commander closed the file and took off his glasses, "What's up, hijo?"

"What'd you tell Lena to get me for Christmas?"

"I haven't any idea what you're talking about, Jesse," said Gabe, a sly grin turning at the corner of his mouth.

 _That smile'd be grounds for a bar fight with the Deadlocks._

 _Too bad this is Blackwatch. He'd probably kick your ass, too._

 _Ah, you could take him._

 _Do you not remember sparring this morning? He_ literally _threw you off the mat._

 _That was before lunch._

"That's _horseshit_ , Gabe! I'm running outta ideas and I've got," Jesse looked at his watch, " _Six HOURS?!_ "

Gabe gave out a hearty laugh, "Alright, Vaquero, what do you got?"

"I've got, 'something small that means something.' That's it."

"That's not a lot," Gabe said, letting out a whistle.

"I _know_ that, Jefe. It'd be a lot easier if I knew what she got me, though."

"Well, I only told her to not spend any money on you, told her you weren't worth it," Gabe said, he tapped his chin in thought as Jesse rolled his eyes. "What time is it?"

Jesse looked at his watch again, "1303, why?"

"Well, what say we go run a recon mission and find out what she got you?" suggested the Commander. "We can be a little late to today's exercise, with such an emergency on our hands."

"What, break into her quarters?" asked Jesse, feeling a little uncomfortable at the thought. "I don't really want to be going through her personal things like that."

"I'm not suggesting we go through her panty drawer, son," said Gabe, looking offended that Jesse would even think he was suggesting that. "Just saying, if the gift is just sitting at the top of her closet, what's the harm in giving it a look?"

Jesse considered the proposal for a moment before looking up at Gabe, "Alright, we don't touch anything or dig through anything. If we can't find it just by looking, we leave like we were never there."

Gabe held his hands up in feint surrender, "You make the rules, hijo. She'd probably kill you if you did, anyway. If I think the present might be in her fridge next to any leftovers, though, I'm gonna check."

"Alright, in and out in five minutes."

"Five minutes," Reyes confirmed.

Gabriel grabbed I hacking kit and the two were out on their most important operation of the holiday season, the op that kept Jesse off his girlfriend's naughty list.


	2. Chapter 2

_Alright! This chapter took a little bit longer than expected but I'm still planning on having the third out before Christmas or at least not too long after! I hope you all enjoy this! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everybody!_

* * *

Jesse's head peeked into the hall, quickly taking in the surroundings before disappearing back around the corner. They needed to be absolutely positive that this op succeeded and to do that, they needed to remain unseen. No witnesses, no evidence of their presence, zero footprint. It was a good thing that these two were the best at this sort of thing.

"Anything?" asked Gabriel in a whisper.

"Nothing. Hallway's clear," replied Jesse.

Gabriel handed Jesse the hacking kit and the two moved stealthily toward the target doorway. Jesse unscrewed the keypad's cover quickly and efficiently, setting it aside and attaching the kit to the necessary wires. The routine wouldn't last more than a few minutes but it left them more vulnerable than the two professionals would like.

Gabriel peered over the Cowboy's shoulder, looking over his work, "Did you hook it up yet?"

"Yes, Gabe," Jesse rolled his eyes while double checking that the kit was hooked up correctly. Normally, the hacking kit would make quick work of a door's lock, but normal door locks weren't set up by Winston. At least the kit was set up by Winston, too.

"How's it coming?" asked Reyes, leaning over Jesse even more, trying to get a look.

" _Gabriel_ , I have done this, _literally_ , a thousand times. Will you hold your horses?"

Gabriel bit his tongue but kept his position perched over Jesse's shoulder.

 _Where's a cigar when you need one?_

 _Yeah, that's a_ great _idea. No way Lena will figure out you've been here, what with the smell of tobacco smoke all over the place._

 _If it'd get Reyes off your shoulder, it'd be worth it._

The two Blackwatch commandos kneeled by the keypad to the door, staring intently at the screen of the hacking kit. From behind them, a throat cleared and a foot began to tap. The two men slowly turned around to find a rather irritated looking Doctor staring down at them.

Mercy addressed the two, "And what, exactly, are you two doing breaking into Miss Oxton's quarters?"

"This is on you, kid," Gabriel said, stepping back from the peeved Doctor and slapping Jesse on the shoulder. Angela's gaze fell on Jesse.

The Cowboy put on his most charming smile and rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, Angela, you see, Lena left something in her room and she asked me to… get…" McCree's excuse puttered out as he saw the look on Angela's face. She wasn't buying it.

 _Shit. Angela's going to kill you._

 _She's a Doctor, right? Isn't that against their oath or somethin'?_

 _Do you think Angela will care? She'll kill you, revive you, and kill you again if she get's pissed._

 _Shit, you're right._

"Alright, Doc, listen: Jack's Christmas Party is _tonight_ and I'm supposed to exchange Christmas gifts with Lena then and I am _plum_ out of ideas."

Mercy stood there, her icy gaze unwavering.

" _And…_ I just need to figure out what she got me and then I'll be _right_ out of there. I promise, just don't tell Lena."

 _Yeah, I'm pretty sure this breaks the_ "no hints" _clause of_ that _particular agreement._

 _If Angela doesn't kill you, Lena just might._

Angela stood there for what felt like ages before bursting into laughter. With Mercy doubled over, the two wayward agents relaxed noticeably. When she finally righted herself, there were tears in her eyes and she gently grabbed her friend's shoulder, "Zis has to be one of ze _stupidest_ problems I've ever heard of you getting into, Jesse."

Angela wiped tears from her eyes, still tickled by the absurdity of finding two of Overwatch's top agents attempting to hack into one of their girlfriend's quarters to find out what she had gotten him for Christmas.

 _Alright, it's not that funny, Doc._

 _I mean, this_ does _look pretty dumb._

 _Shut up._

"Listen, Jesse, you don't need to _cheat_ to figure out what you should get Lena for Christmas," said Angela, her laughter turning into a genuine smile for her good friend. "Just zink about what your relationship means to _you_ and get something zat symbolizes _zat_."

The Cowboy looked a little dumbstruck by the simplicity of the advice and hardly reacted when Angela gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as she continued on to her own quarters next door to Lena's.

"Thanks, Angela! I think the boy needed to hear that," said Gabriel from behind Jesse, looking as if this particular interaction made the whole exercise worth his while and clapping him on the back.

He was pretty sure he heard another laugh and an " _Idiots"_ as the Doctor went through her door but he wasn't sure. At that moment, the hacking program finished its routine and Lena's door popped open.

The two looked at the door and hesitantly stepped through. The door opened up to a surprisingly open kitchen and living room bearing a clean yet cozy look, filled with little mementos from Tracer's life. McCree looked around the room that he had grown very familiar with over the past month and a half, her Royal Air Force wings sat on a counter next to a picture of her air wing on a tarmac somewhere in England, a race bib was pinned next to a gold medal from when she was supposed to be the world's next fastest woman, and there were plenty of photos from her time at Overwatch, of her with her friends and comrades.

 _Not too many of us._

 _It's not like y'all have been taking selfies all the time. You're usually too interested in her to think about taking a picture._

The two walked into the room and immediately noticed a small, festive bag with tissue paper sprouting out of the top sitting neatly on the middle of her small dinner table. In front of it was a plain white card with "Jesse" written in her familiar handwriting. Jesse picked up the card and hesitantly opened it.

"Hello, Love! I _figured_ you might get desperate and try something stupid, so I made it _easy_ for you! In front of you is your gift, if you _really_ need to know what I got you so you know what to get me, it's right there! You really shouldn't feel so much pressure, though! I know that I'll love whatever you get me!

- _Lena_

P.S. If you brought Gabe with you, make sure he doesn't eat the Cadbury chocolate I have stashed in my fridge or I'm holding you responsible for getting me more, Cowboy!"

Jesse's smile had grown throughout the letter and by the end, he couldn't help but laugh. The Cowboy pocketed the note and turned toward his superior, who was already bent over, rummaging through Lena's fridge.

"Alright, Jefe! I think we're done here. By the way, Lena wants you out of her fridge."

Gabriel peaked over the door of the fridge at Jesse, a bar of chocolate half stuck into his mouth, "You knew the terms when you accepted my help, McCree."

Jesse smiled and added a Cadbury bar to the list of things he needed to grab before tonight, "Alright, well, let's head on out, now. I think I'm good."

Gabriel finished the bar as he walked over to the table, eyeing the bag sitting on display, "Didn't open it, huh? Worried it's booby trapped?"

"Not at all, Gabe. I just know what I'm going to get her, s'all," Jesse said as he took in the room and began walking out the door into the hall.

"How much time d'ya need to get it all together?" asked Gabriel.

"'Bout 10, 20 minutes in town and I should be good, Boss," said McCree, thinking of where exactly he needed to go. He already had half of what he needed.

Gabriel looked at his watch and thought for a second, "Alright hijo, take care of your business and double time it back. You should be able to make it for most of this afternoon's exercises."

"What're we doing, anyway?" asked Jesse, Gabriel typically liked to surprise his teams with the afternoon exercises. To help them keep on their toes, he would say.

"Breach and clear, simple stuff. Figured I'd give y'all something easy before the party tonight."

Jesse grinned, he had helped write that particular playbook, "You're too generous, Jefe."

"I know! It's my biggest flaw, people say," said Gabriel, returning Jesse's grin.

"Who says that?"

"Alright, alright, on your way before I change my mind and make you run the course, too."

Jesse gave his mentor a quick salute and took off towards the car park. Overwatch agents were allowed to keep their personal vehicles on the grounds, even if they rarely ever used them. Not long after that, McCree was going through a small shop that he and Lena had walked through not too long ago.

 _Where is it? She had liked one of these a lot._

 _You sure this'll be enough?_

 _Of course it'll be enough._

 _What if she just_ dominates _your present?_

 _She won't. This is about the same size as that bag on her table._

 _What if that was just a decoy?_

 _Oh shit._

Jesse finally found what he was looking for, almost threw the money at the shopkeeper and raced back to his car. He was almost back on base before he remembered the chocolate, stopping at a petrol station real quick before peeling into the car park and running up to his quarters, where he found the other half of his gift. It didn't take long, he knew exactly where it was. He slipped the finished product into a small, unassuming bag and placed it by his door before taking off to make the rest of the breach and clear exercises.

The afternoon went by in a flash. McCree could kick down a door in his sleep, which was a good thing because his mind was anywhere but on that training ground.

 _What if she doesn't like it?_

 _Stop this shit, she'll like it._

 _What if her gift is better?_

 _Of course her present'll be better, she's Lena. She's the Gift-Giving Queen._

 _Fair point._

 _I know. Now, there's nothing else you can do. That particular horse has already left the barn._

Gabriel dismissed his teams with enough time to run and grab whatever they needed to grab to be at Jack's on time. It was common knowledge that the two commanders used these parties as another form of competition and Gabe would be damned if he let Jack's people one-up his. Thus, attendance at this particular party was mandatory, as was Holiday Cheer.

Jesse wasn't too worried about any of that. He looked forward to several hours of uninterrupted time with Lena, something that always seemed to come at a premium. If he had to wear a wreath to make that happen, he'd be damned if he wasn't going to wear a wreath.

 _A wreath, huh?_

 _There are several members of the Deadlock Gang that would probably gut you with a long knife if they could see you now._

 _They could try, they'd just get shot in the face by a man wearing a wreath around his neck._

 _If Lena didn't get them first._

McCree raced back to his quarters and threw on the sweater that Lena had given him a couple weeks ago, insisting that it didn't count as a gift. That hadn't stopped him from getting her an elf hat in return. If he was going to look ridiculous in the sweater, they'd look ridiculous together.

 _It's a pretty cool sweater, though._

 _The Deadlock Gang would definitely try to kill you._

He grabbed the gift and was out the door in a hurry, making his way to Commander Morrison's house in quick time. Jack's house was decked in lights of all colors, something that McCree was pretty sure Gabriel found to be tasteless. He could see several rather large fires built up in the back for those party-goers that wanted to step out of what was sure to be packed rooms and hallways. The fires would have to be large, as the snowfall just seemed to be picking up with each passing moment.

Jesse worked his way through the open door, past several agents that had managed to park themselves in his path, and immediately started to look for his Elfish girlfriend. It didn't take long before he heard her distinctive laugh and his heart skipped a beat. He found her by the doorway to the kitchen, taking in what appeared to be a particularly funny story from Angela and wearing her elf hat with more confidence than any normal person had any right to have.

 _She can sure wear the_ hell _out of that elf hat._

 _You can say that again._

 _She can sure wear the_ he- _Son of a bitch, is that Angela?_

McCree's tanned cheeks flushed a little bit imagining what the Doctor could be telling her and made his way up to the two best friends.

"Well, _there_ you are, Love!" Lena's face lit up like the too-big Christmas tree in Jack's living room and she threw her arms around McCree's neck.

"Hey Darling," said Jesse, smiling and grabbing Lena's waist, drawing her in close, momentarily forgetting about Angela.

"Vell, it vould appear Lena picked this particular spot to wait for a reason," chimed in Angela, peaking an eyebrow and smiling into her cup of eggnog.

Lena's cheeks grew just the slightest shade of rose as she turned her eyes to the frame of the door. McCree followed her eyes up to find a hanging mistletoe. Of course Jack would hang mistletoe. He'd have to remember to thank him some time tonight.

Lena pulled herself even closer to her Gunslinger and the two shared a deep kiss.

"Merry Christmas, Cowboy," Lena said, with a smile that made Jesse want to throw her over his shoulder and take her back to his room.

 _No time. Think Jack's room is locked?_

 _Probably._

 _Dammit._

"So, what did you get me?" asked Lena.


	3. Chapter 3

_So, I suppose this'll need a note beforehand, yeah? First off, I'm sorry this took so long! I was on track to have this finished before Christmas, but then the comic came out and I found myself unsure as to whether I should proceed or not. After receiving a few messages from people encouraging me to continue I decided to do so (thanks to those of you with the kind words!), but by then I was super busy with Christmas. Before I knew it, it was New Years and then I just got completely swamped with work. But I finally caught a break and got to finish this!_

 _In regards to the comic and the canonicity of Tracer's sexuality, I'd like to say that this fic (and any other fic I've written/will write) is not intended to be an attack on it in any way, shape or form. I wholeheartedly support Lenily, that comic was cuteness overload. I merely like this little ship of mine (I've been shipping it basically since McCree was announced as a character) and enjoy writing it._

 _Anyways, now that that's out of the way, I hope you enjoy this! "A Mid-Spring's Reprieve" will probably come around April or May. In the meantime, if you have any one-shot requests for "Shots In Time", feel free to message me and let me know!_

* * *

The Gunslinger put on his most charming smile as he held the British Sprite by her waist, "Well, that depends, what did you get me?"

"Nu-uh, that's not gonna fly, Cowboy," said Lena, smiling right back. Her hands began rubbing his back underneath his serape in a way that Jesse didn't find unpleasurable before he realized she was searching for her gift. "I asked first! Now it's time to put up or shut up!"

It wasn't often that McCree found himself nervous but this whole situation was certainly trying its hardest to raise his heart rate. He had survived losing his family as a kid, survived being a part of a bike gang since his mid-teens, survived _Gabriel_ as his boss for Chrissake. Now, faced with the prospect of giving a subpar gift to the woman that was quickly becoming the brightest part of his life, he found his palms getting sweaty.

 _Or maybe it's because you still have your gloves on?_

 _That might have something to do with it._

Jesse took his gloves off and slipped them into his back pocket before bringing the small gift bag out from under his serape. Lena's eyes lit up as she gingerly plucked the gift from his hands, her smile growing into a beaming white grin as she opened the bag.

 _That right there made all this trouble worth it._

 _Hopefully you earned it, Cowboy._

 _Will you just enjoy the moment for once?_

Lena's smile wavered for a brief moment as she brought out her gift, the picture of the two of them playfully fighting over his hat that Ana had taken at the Halloween Festival resting nicely in the picture frame that Lena had mentioned she liked.

 _Oh yeah, she loves it._

 _Of course she does. Why did you ever doubt yourself?_

"Why you little _GIT!_ " exclaimed Lena, the look of mock consternation on her face.

 _Oh shit._

"I left my present for you on the table but you weren't supposed to actually _look_ at it!" said Lena, slapping McCree's shoulder playfully. "It was _supposed_ to inspire you! Not convince you to copy _my_ gift!"

From behind Lena, she produced the fancy bag that Jesse had seen earlier that afternoon and quickly brought out the gift that she had gotten for Jesse, the photo of the two embracing each other on top of the hill in front of the airfield that Ana had taken just before she took the one he had.

 _Oh_ **shit.**

 _Is she mad or charmed? This is important._

 _Yeah, not sure, that slap on the shoulder was pretty hard._

 _But she's smiling?_

"See here, Darling, I didn't look!" pleaded McCree, Lena's smile mixing with her fiercely set eyebrows still thoroughly confusing Jesse. "I read your note and thought of my gift without peeking!"

"Is that so?" interrogated Lena who, at the very least, was enjoying putting the screws to an increasingly bewildered looking Jesse.

"Look, I swear! Gabe can back me up!" exclaimed Jesse, waving over the Blackwatch Commander.

Gabriel, holding a plate of Christmas cookies in one hand and a mug of black coffee in the other, made his way over to the couple.

 _Is Gabe wearing… reindeer antlers?_

 _Focus, big guy. You need to clear this whole fiasco up if you ever want to take advantage of that mistletoe again._

 _Right. Present._

"Gabe, tell her that I didn't look at the present she got me when we broke into her apartment," said Jesse as Gabe pulled up next to the two.

Gabe finished his bite of snowman cookie, "Yeah, I didn't really get it. He made us go through all that trouble and didn't even bother looking. Especially after you left it out for him."

"What? You expect me to trust the _Cadbury_ thief?"

"Okay, about that, I have two replacement bars sitting in my fridge _right now_ ," said Jesse. "But he's telling the truth! I didn't look! I read your letter, saw that you didn't have any pictures of us anywhere and remembered you had said you liked this frame! That's the God's honest truth, right there."

Lena bit her lip and pondered on McCree's pleas of innocence before turning to Angela, "Whaddaya say, Mercy? You believe 'im?"

 _Angela will have your back._

 _Are you kidding? Angela is one of Lena's best friends._

 _You're right. Bust out the puppy dog eyes._

McCree gave Angela the best pleading look he could muster as the Doctor looked from him to Lena, "I zink I believe him, Lena."

McCree thrust his fists up in victory, "Thank you, Angela! I always knew you were the smartest woman I know."

"Don't push it, Cowboy," said Angela, giving McCree a wry smile as she hugged Lena and went off to join the rest of the party.

"I _suppose_ I believe you," said Lena, holding the two frames in one hand as she grabbed his sweater with the other and drew him near. "I guess great minds think alike."

Their faces were close enough that Jesse could feel her warm breath against his neck and he found that he couldn't help himself, drawing her in close for another passionate kiss, only vaguely aware of the small voice in the back of his head wondering if this was her plan all along. The two enjoyed the taste of each other for a moment before separating, Lena looking contentedly at Jesse through half-lidded eyes and a wispy smile.

Lena leaned into McCree, putting her mouth next to his ear and whispered, "The rest of your gift will have to wait till later."

She pulled back again and took in the blank slate that had become Jesse's face and patted him delicately on the chin, "Now go enjoy the party a bit, love!"

 _Wha-what?_

 _Oh, she's devious. How are you supposed to just enjoy the party now?_

 _Maybe sing a few Christmas carols?_

Jesse watched Lena walk away before she turned her head back to him and gave him a devilish wink and grin.

 _And maybe some hot cocoa._

 _With some bourbon._

The Cowboy made his way to Jack's kitchen where he found the hot chocolate and grabbed a mug. He took a sip while rooting through his cabinets looking for where the Overwatch commander had stashed his whiskey.

 _Angela must've made her Ovaltine again._

 _Or given the recipe to Morrison._

 _Either or, it's delicious._

He finally found a bottle of the brown liquid hiding behind the flour, only briefly confused as to why the commander of Overwatch had a fully stocked kitchen in his house when he was almost always busy with work and poured a couple fingers into his Ovaltine.

"You know, you're supposed to put _schnapps_ in Ovaltine, McCree," said Angela as she came up beside him with her own mug.

"I figured I'd make it a little more America s'all, darlin."

"Uh-huh," said the Doctor as she grabbed the bottle from his hands and poured some into her own drink. "You'd better put this away, Jack doesn't take too kindly to ozzers sneaking some of his own supply."

Jesse put the bottle back in its hiding place and the two turned around, leaning their elbows on the counter and taking in the rest of the party. Lena had managed to convince Winston to get on the impromptu stage with her to start an interesting rendition of _Jingle Bell Rock_. To his credit, Winston only looked slightly uncomfortable.

"So, did you look?"

"Oh come on, Angela. You don't believe me?" asked Jesse, a mock-pained look on his face and his hand pleadingly pressed against his chest.

Angela gave the Cowboy a long appraising look before coming to her conclusion, "I suppose I do."

The two stood in amiable silence, taking sips from their warm drinks and enjoying Lena and Winston make fools of themselves. As their song came to an end, Jack and Gabriel jumped up with them, motioning that they keep their place. Gabriel turned around and searched the crowd.

 _He's still wearing those ridiculous antlers._

 _But he seems to be really enjoying himself!_

Gabriel finally found who he was looking for, immediately making a face at Jesse and Angela, pointing at them both before rather aggressively motioning for them to join him and the rest for a carol.

 _Dammit._

"Dammit," said Angela. The two put back the rest of their Ovaltine and started making their way to join the four others. When they got there, Jack and Gabriel motioned for the group to get into a huddle.

"Gabe, this is ridiculous," said Jesse in a whisper.

 _Wait, why are you whispering?_

 _I don't know, it's a huddle._

"Shush your mouth, McCree," said Jack.

"Hey now, Jack, he's Blackwatch. Only I get to talk to him like that," said Gabriel. "Hush your mouth, McCree."

Lena let out a little snicker at that and the others smiled before Gabriel brought their attention back into focus, "We're going to sing _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_."

"Does this have anything to do with your antlers, love?" asked Lena.

"What it has to do with is being an absolute Christmas classic, Miss Oxton," responded Jack.

Jesse and Angela groaned a little bit, Winston, surprisingly, appeared to be totally on board. The Gorilla apparently had taken to caroling after singing with Lena.

The gang huddled for a moment, seemingly unsure on what to do next, "So, are we supposed to shout 'Break!' and clap our hands?" asked McCree

"Don't be ridiculous, this isn't football," responded Morrison, before hitting a button on a remote that had seemingly materialized out of thin air. The opening beats of the song started coming through the house's speakers and their huddle fanned out, the six of them lining up with their arms around each other's shoulders.

They were surprisingly good, Winston and Gabriel providing a good bass for the others to work off of while Angela and Lena harmonized. The rest of the party quickly joined in and the house filled with Christmas Cheer.

The party moved seamlessly into another carol when Lena grabbed Jesse's hand and pulled him to the side, "Well, I think we've had enough of this party, don't you think?"

 _Yes._

 _Hell yes._

"I guess so, Darlin," replied Jesse. "What're ya in such a rush for?"

"Just thinking about that kiss earlier, is all," said Lena in her worst Southern drawl as she batted her eyes. "Now come on, back to my place.

The couple stealthily made their way out the front door and raced through the snow back towards Lena's quarters. Once inside, the two kicked the snow loose and made their way towards her couch. Lena took great care to ensure her newly framed picture of the two of them was placed perfectly before she turned the lights off and switched her monitor over to a crackling fire.

Lena climbed onto the couch and snuggled herself into the Cowboy, Jesse putting an arm around her. The two shared a lingering gaze before leaning into each other and sharing another passionate kiss. When their lips finally parted, Lena's half-lidded look was back as she bit her lip.

 _No need to sneak off now, Cowboy._

 _Merry Christmas._


End file.
